Richard Tuite, the mentally ill man recently acquitted in the 1998 stabbing death of Stephanie Crowe, will be on parole until July – much longer than the 10-day period imposed last week, a state parole spokesman said Thursday.

Tuite, 44, was cleared of the killing by a San Diego Superior Court jury earlier this month. But he was ordered to serve 10 days parole for a brief escape from custody during his initial trial in 2004 for the death of the 12-year-old Escondido girl.

A jury at that trial cleared Tuite of murder but convicted him of voluntary manslaughter in connection with the slaying of the child, who was found on her bedroom floor by family members Jan. 21, 1998.

He was serving time for manslaughter and the subsequent escape when the slaying conviction was overturned by a federal appeals court. He was cleared of the killing at retrial, but his release from custody was delayed for days while the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation worked to determine if he could be put on parole for the escape.

The initial calculations determined he could be paroled, but only for 10 days. He was released from custody last week and whisked out of the county by parole officials to an undisclosed location.

On Thursday, corrections spokesman Bill Sessa said a recalculation led parole officials to determine that his parole could be extended through July. He said Tuite would remain at the undisclosed location outside of San Diego County for the duration of his parole.